A British man is facing six months in a Dubai jail for making an offensive gesture towards an Iraqi.
Simon Andrews, 56, is said to have lost his temper during an argument with aviation student Mahmud Rasheed and ‘flicked his finger’ at him.
Mr Rasheed complained to police and the Briton was arrested for outraging public decency and has been banned from leaving the country as he awaits trial.
But eight months on the trial was adjourned until April 4 after Mr Rasheed failed to appear to give evidence against Mr Andrews.
A court source told the Sun: ‘Mr Andrews says the offensive gesture never happened. The Iraqi has never appeared in court to testify against him and there are no witnesses.
‘Mr Andrews has told the court there is no evidence he did anything wrong and that it is Mr Rasheed’s word against his.
‘He has been banned from leaving the country and has been warned he could be jailed then deported.’
A friend of Mr Andrews, who surrendered his passport as a surety, has been told it will not be returned until another passport is provided.
Accused: Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer were jailed for allegedly having sex on Jumeirah Beach in Dubai
But a blog posted by Seabee on life in Dubai said foreigners were often falling foul of its lax legal system.
It states: ‘In this part of the world a personal insult is taken very, very seriously.
‘So seriously that it’s a criminal offence which can lead to jail, and deportation for foreigners.
‘It’s a case of needing to understand the culture of the place you’re in and acting accordingly.
‘It’s another example of an unsubstantiated accusation. One person’s word against another’s. There is no evidence, there are no witnesses.
‘It surely must be wrong that a case can even be brought on that basis.’
The case is the latest in a string of incidents involving British people in Dubai.
In 2008, IT firm manager Vince Acors and publishing company executive Michelle Palmer were both jailed after they were accused of having sex on Jumeirah Beach.
In January, a British man and his girlfriend faced jail for having unlawful sex outside marriage in a Dubai hotel and last month marketing executive Ayman Najafi and Charlotte Adams were arrested for outraging public decency after sharing a kiss in a bar.
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Hey, ya know, When in Rome…..